Mortal
by Accendrix
Summary: For one thing in order to avoid the Half-Life/Portal Earth confusions I set this story in another dimension severe plot changes! / Chell is free from the Facility and is happily living her life danegrously close to the facility. BUT when a series of events that seem too ridiculous to believe occur, Wheatley is flung at her face and GlaDOS gets into a jam involving aliens.
1. Chapter 1: Cold

L4Dortal

Chapter 1: Cold

In the vastness of the Milky Way Galaxy, near the orbit of the moon…a familiar white sphere(s) floated about, periodically moving it's iris and optics about like a madman, flailing it's grip handles wildly, and always repeating the same line(s).

"SPACE! SPACE! I'm in SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE!"

"Yes we are mate, blimey where are you?"

The two spheres would spin around and occasionally catch a glance at each other, eyes in a state of happy splendor. One natural, the other just out of respect. The blue iris'ed Aperture Personality Core, would not stop talking. Remarking on how it would vomit soon (although it had no physical way of vomiting) with all the motion sickness from the constant floating or spinning or twisting or ARGH! It was making it sick! The other sphere however…would merrily respond with the constant rabble on what constellation it had just spotted, or how it loved the concept of space or how a large metal object with the traditional Aperture Logo was rapidly making it's way towards it.

"Hey. Heyheyheyheyheyhey! That's not supposed to be in space." Yet when the phrase "space" was emitted from it's vocal processor, it was reminded of it's true love and began to frantically rabble on space was the promised land. Eventually it just got weird other than humorous, when the core went on a rant on how Space was a superior race than the other dimensional races, and how Space should go through a third Reich.

"Woah there mate! Do you even know what you're saying?" the other Core belted. No response. The Core tried to pathetically spin itself around to look at the his companion, but flailing it's handles and trying to spin it's chassis in a place where it had no control over it's directional movement was pretty frustrating. Finally, some force began to turn the sphere around.

"Oh finally! Woahwoahwoahwoah! What the-?" the core yelled, but it quickly went silent and seemed to cower under the metal monolith that was taking up it's entire field of vision. An orange light was brilliantly glowing on the core, and seemed to be shaking with fright. It's blue iris was now a mixed glow of red, orange, and bright blue. The core's whimpered out,

"H-hello?"

The metal machine, marked with multiple damage areas of where small space rocks had smacked into it's hull or left burning streaks on the relatively bland white surface of the machine. It looked like a floating egg, with areas smoothly jutting out- a glow of green and blue coming from it. Silently, the orange eye that was intently glaring at Wheatley looked over to the other core. It was already grabbed by long, framed worked arms each delicately handling the sphere. The core was panicking about, spinning and flailing around in the machine's hands. The aperture logo hissed a bit, before it opened up like sliding doors, revealing a dark black abyss inside the machine. The Space Core was quickly placed into the hole, and the doors shut. Wheatley, horrified, tried to get away, but the machine silently grabbed him too, with it's slender mechanical arms, and the doors opened again.

"NononoNONONONONO! LET ME GO! LET ME GO! LEMMEGO!" he screamed. This was ironically reminding him of how he pleaded with that lady back at the facility to grab him when the portal on the moon had opened up. A ravishing wave of guilt and anger swept through him for a moment, as he remembered how stupid and incredibly gloomy he felt after the entire incident of his betrayal and her…face. There was no time for that though! Wheatley was placed into the hole, and the doors shut again. The black area he was suspended in, suddenly pressurized and he fell quite hard onto the steel grating ground of the compartment. Space Core was there, it's iris glowing and voice constantly machine-gunning out words of how it missed space. Wheatley got his bearings a bit,

"No no, we're still _in _Space! Get it? Then again we could have been teleported or something. What if we're back on Earth! Yeah! That'd be great! Jus you, me, and…this big thing we're inside of. Which sounds a bit gross when you honestly think about it. Course it sounds gross but when you think more it doesn't really _look _gross or _smell _gross. I mean it's not like if I saw what I aid earlier…again, that somebody would go, 'I beg your pardon Wheatley?' And I'd say, 'Nonono, see it's just a machine thing! It's a not a person.' Do people even go inside people? Now that sounds gross. I personally think that it's physically impossible. What about you buddy?"

"I miss Space." it solemnly said. Wheatley, taking in his new equally dark and terrifying environment replied,

"Me too mate. Me too."

The machine they were in, outside of their view, brought it's arms back into it's hull in these long and thin compartments it had opened on the side's of it's eye. The arms retreated, and the compartments closed. The egg-shaped machine them spun around, and began it's entry to the moon, where it would slingshot itself to Earth. Inside the compartment, the lights suddenly came on. Wheatley cringed a bit, and shut his optic lids as the bright white lights shined. He got used to the shine, and looked around. As he turned to one corner, straight mechanical hydraulic arms came down and grabbed both Wheatley and Space Core. A scanner looked them over, before they were both comically placed into a hard-class jar, placed into an area on the ground, and then shut in as a lid was placed on the jar. Clamps on the ground fit the small jar, and they hissed into place. Wheatley and Space Core were both uncomfortable clustered into this small jar, both on the bottom. Space Core was underneath Wheatley, and it was ranting about it preferred the eternal freedom in space than this cramped glass prison. A tub e came down and went though the lid, it started to fire out this light blue and yellow fluid which filled up the jar. Wheatley and Space Core floated up and were suspended in this jar. But not before Wheatley looked at the words inscribed on a plaque in five different languages. The plaque was screwed into the wall of the compartment, and in English it read: **Aperture Drone and Vitrogenous Experimenter**. He also looked at the other jars in the compartment, eyes wide I shock as strange spores and alien organisms were suspended in the same fluid. They both were frozen in place though, the strange dark green vegetative spore, with it's small tendrils outstretched at a frozen organism dead in it's jar. The thing was a large humanoid thing, looking badly deformed and incredibly ragged. Mist circled the ground, as the Cryogenic process took over, the liquid freezing Wheatley and Space Core in place. The fluid wasn't messing up their systems, just coating it and moving with and over the wires and exposed networking. However the insides of each core were held in place as the liquid froze over. And the two cores were stuck in that jar, paused in a state of shock. The lights shut off after that, and the egg-shaped Drone went on towards the Moon.

…

As the machine entered the atmosphere, it began to rapidly heat up. Something fizzed and exploded within the machine, but it still went downwards. It opened it's top thrusters and began to slow itself down to a peaceful landing at the Aperture facility it had been shot out of a LONG time ago. As it went down, two things happened at the same time. For one thing, the Cryogenic process shut of with the explosion, and the jars began to heat up. Eventually the fluid was just boiling, and Wheatley and the Space Core were screaming in fear as they didn't know what was going on. Wheatley looked to the other side, at the spore jar. The spore was frantically moving, it's octopus tendrils flailing around, smacking against the jar. The other organism lay still, dead. The other/last thing, was that something had gone wrong over with the rocket testing in Nevada, North America. A proto-type scatter rocket had lost control and it was lost to the sky, where coincidently it smashed into the egg-shaped machine. The hull and chassis held up for the machine, but it spun out of control and began to fly about in the air, forwards thrusters driving it dilly-dally in each direction. The scatter-rocket, and exploded into pieces and flew to the ground. The back hatch of the Drone had flown open, and the locking system of the cargo compartment began to falter.

"AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHH HHH!" Wheatley screamed. Space Core was shrieking in un-earthly sounds that would drive even the calmest of monks to go and commit ritual suicide.

…

"Are you telling me you just lost control of a SIX million dollar project?!" General Locke howled. He had the strongest look of disbelief on his face. The Scientists in the room had a look of complete, heart-wrenching loss on their faces. One, a grizzled scientists who seemed to have been over-looking the project with the General, was silently gripping his desk, in the observation building near the launch site. A Scientist who seemed to be in his mid-thirties, was gloomily sitting on the ground, his entire form slumped over and guilty on the mistake he just made. The grizzled Scientist walked forwards and leaned down. He put an arm to the shoulder of the other Scientist.

"I-I'm sorry sir." the younger scientist choked out. The older one helped the man to his feet, only for the younger one to get clocked in the face by General Locke.

"GET THIS MOTHERFUCKER OUT OF MY SIGHT! I'LL HAVE YOU ASS FIRED FLINT!" Locke bellowed. Ignoring his own words, he charged at Flint, but before he could reach the man some guards held him back. The grizzled Scientist turned away. Flint was pained by this action, this one act was like a hot blade cutting into his stomach and letting the acid wash over his intestines. He walked out of the building and headed for his jeep. General Locke was busy speaking into his radio about the Prototype testing, and how Flint had ruined it all. Reaching his dirty, dark-red jeep, Flint got in, locked the doors, and started it up. Without even clocking out, he began his drive home using the dirt path the Military Vehicles usually used. He looked in the rearview mirror, at himself. He was tall, pale, and a clean shaven face. His eyes were dark brown, while his hair was a lighter hazel color. He was on his way to the turn when some scrap from the Aperture Drone smashed into his Jeep and obliterated it. Smaller scrap from the Rocket and the Jeep then began to annihilate the Military Testing Facility. Locke was ordering everyone to fall back to the shelters, but a small piece of scrap flew right into his head and came out the other side. His body lurched forwards and he fell onto the ground, a sizzling and clear hole left from his right eye diagonally through his skull and brain, out the back of his head. His carcass lay on the dirt ground, as the destruction around him finally ceased. Sizzling and scorched wreckage of the bombardment littering the area.

…

It had been two years. Two long, incredibly difficult years…since she had escaped. The first day had been easy…she picked up her cube and dragged it with her through the field of golden wheat, only to abandon it halfway through her trek. It wasn't as if this was bad though, Chell had looked at the back of the shed and saw a large farm Barn. On it's side was an Aperture logo. She had hesitantly went over to it, and explored. The Barn was completely empty. A small Farmhouse was up on a hill, and she followed the cut out path to the house. Entering it, she found it to be completely empty of occupants. It seemed as if this place was for aesthetic purposes, serving as the look of a farm, but not the purpose of it also. Nevertheless, she discovered running water and working phone lines. Now she didn't go on and begin to just dial any random number and talk with a stranger for a few days...she was actually incredibly afraid of that phone. Chell wouldn't look at it when she passed it the next day. The second day, she had awoken from her slumber. She had slept on the floor of the living room, sunlight slipping through the glass windows and right onto her face. Her eyes opened a bit feebly, and she looked around the room. Finally, after a long time of staring at her new place…she smiled. Two years later, she had completely outfitted her Farmhouse. Good furniture, a warm bed, some electronics, and best of all, the thing she cherished…the Companion cube. She had tried scrubbing the burn marks off, and it did seem cleaner and more prouder than before. It had it's own pedestal, made of glossed oak wood. Chell, had bought some clothing, enough to get by- and at a bargain. She had spent a vast majority of time exploring her new home, trying to ignore the fact that it sat right over Medusa's Lair. Her infinte eyes, cold voice, and killer abilities were incredibly unnerving to Chell. Yet she had persevered through all of the tests including…including no one else. That evil AI was her only enemy, never a friend or anything more. Just a nemesis that she had conquered. Sometimes she'd awake to the thought that GLaDOS had sent that Party Escort Bot after her, to take her and bring her back. How did she get all this stuff? Well for one thing she got a job. A pretty little thing like herself got an easy job as a cashier to a small local store in a town a few miles away. It had been the first thing she walked into after the long walk, and she pleaded for some water. A man called Baxter hande her a plastic bottle, and through him she got a job. Baxter supported her in every way, see he had a daughter much like Chell but she had gone on to the city and got a job at some fancy Science company called something-or-the-other-Mesa. Baxter owned the small store and loved Chell's company. When the time came, after a year of working with Chell he gave her the store and left town with a broad smile on his face, aiming to reach the city and reunite with his daughter.

Chell was finally at peace. The nightmares of the facility had dwindled with each day, and her home (despite it's origins of Aperture creation) was incredibly homely. She loved her new life, and it was shown when she ran barefoot across the field screaming in joy as the wind swept through her long hair and soil touched her bare feet. Her boot design was sent to a Fashionable Shoe company, extending her wealth. People in the town's close by would call her the "Silent Boot Girl." Some even went so far as to criticize her for not getting married yet. Chell did try! She always tried. She was fit and smart, and other aspects of her personality would drive men towards her. However she would leave them , feeling an empty pit in her gut that no man could fill. Her only _real friend who ws a "boy" _ had done something horrible to her, and she'd never forgive…no one. She was talking about no one. Chell would sometimes sit on her porch, staring at the night sky or bright sun…feeling…she didn't know what she felt. Eventually she just went inside her comfy house and forgot all about it. But she knew deep down…she'd never forget.

Of course in her property, away from most of the world- she didn't have any idea what the hell was going on. But she would…soon.

…

The Drone flew across the sky, showering loose scrap onto the Earth below, eventually it just stopped spiraling and regained it's flight path. However it's flight path was aimed right towards the ground.

"Aaaaaaaaargh! Okayokayokay, stay calm! Everyone stay calm! I've got this under control! Actually you've got this! You! Mister or Missus Machine-thing! What's your name? 'Drone and Vitrogenous Experimenter?' Dee ay vee ee? Dave? Dave! Hey mate! How's it hanging! Don't know if you've noticed buddy, but we're all going to die unless you fix yourself! I've got your back man, just this one time cane you, you know, avoid death?!" Wheatley spoke. He was trying to communicate with the machine. The Drone began to whir and hiss, and the spore thing that was trying to break out of it's container was scaring Wheatley more and more. Eventually he just his eyes and let the Space Core begin to talk for him."

"WE'REALLGOINGTODIIIIIIIIEEEEEEE !" it shrieked.

Dave rumbled and fought gravity, until it eventually began to swerve and turn. It nosed upwards, eye staring forwards now. Dave was still on it's way to the ground, and to avoid destruction, the Drone looked over it's map of the geographical scan of the location, and found a nice large cushion near a small house. The machine followed this flight plan now, sticking to the air but still falling downwards, it used the wind as slack to drive it upwards, and Dave fired his forwards thrusters to cushion it's landing. At the last possible second it fired it's parachute- sending the machine violently backwards, flipping three times- the canister locks were ripped from their stations and the spore jar was launched out the back door of the bay, out of Dave, and sent spiraling through the air. Immediately after it's release, the jar banged into the other Organism's canister and it went flying out with it. Wheatley and the Space Core were terrified that they'd be next, but thankfully they stayed with Dave. The egg-shaped shape finally reached it's location of safe entry, a big red barn with an Aperture logo partially painted off the side. Chell was asleep when Dave crashed into her Barn. She awoke immediately, grabbed her Spas-12 shotgun off it's mount on the wall. She hastily clothed her nude body, air chilling her and having her heart stuck in her tight throat. She cocked the gun and ran outside, all she wore was black short-shorts, a white tank top, and a blue robe. The Barn was a burning mess. And she waited a bit until the fires died down. She cautiously walked towards the mangled wreckage, and used her shotgun to knock aside some charred wood. Eventually she saw the shape of a large, dusty white shape. It's red and orange eye flickering on and off. Her eyes went wide, and she went around to the back. It was dark and musty with smoke. Crouching down, she pointed her gun to look through the wreckage, and saw a bright blue light. It appeared to be looking at an orange light, and the two lights were going back and forth. She went back to her house, grabbed a flashlight, ran back inside the barn with bare feet- and shined it right into Wheatley's face. He cringed a bit, looked at her though the glass- and his eyes went insanely wide. She did the same, until she pointed her gun's barrel right at the canister and fired a shell.

The glass cracked a bit as the bullets ricocheted off. Chell got some bead into her arm. She cried a bit in pain and fell back. The glass cracked more, and eventually it exploded. Wheatley and Space Core fell out.

"This isn't space. This is Earth. Earth sucks. Earth is crap. CRAP! I want SPACE! SPAAAACE!"

"Oh well…h-hello there!"

Chell winced a bit as she grabbed her shotgun, cocked it and aimed again. She noticed that the shell never ejected from the gun, but all she cared about was what was in front of her. She pointed the black barrel at Wheatley's bright blue and wide iris.

_Click! _

"Oh, well it appears to me that your black thing isn't working. And uh…fancy meeting you here! Its uh…it's been awhile! Hehe…um…you got over that betrayal thing right?"

_Click! Click! Click!_

"I know there a bit of falling out between us, and I just want to say that I…I…am glad to see you. And that my a-actions were…not very respectable and that I was being selfish…and I was wronging you! But you have to understand! I loved it! I loved the feeling of being in charge! Of actually doing something right for once! And you! You _smiled_. Never once did I see you smile, but when our plan worked, you were _smiling_! Do you know how much that meant to me?! I was utterly ecstatic! We did it, you and me, me and you, us! Ah yeah…but uh. I know what I did. I had a long think over it…and I'm. *sigh* I-I'm _sorry_."

Chell had passed out around the part where Wheatley was speaking about how they had defeated GLaDOS, right before his horrific betrayal. She was filled with the same feeling of accomplishment, and the joy if winning! She had defeated Medusa! The final boss! Game over! But then…then _that _happened. And she thought of Wheatley, and his no-mouth-to-smile-with-smile of joy. His voice and funny ramblings, his advice that almost never worked, or the way how he handled something. The way he's spin his inner-spherical unit around while wobbling his handles. She had grown to close to him, her only real friend during those times in the Facility…until he ripped her heart out and stomped on it basically. Her eyes fluttered a bit, and she fell back. Her shotgun lay at her side, while hand was crossed over her breast. Blood was forming a small pool next to her arm and head…but she still had a small smirk on her face.

_He was back._


	2. Chapter 2: Hot

Mortal

Chapter 2: Hot

"Hey! Hey lady! HEEEEEEEeeeeeeeYYYYYYyyyy!"

"Iwannagobacktospace. Space. Lady's dead. Space is not dead. Space! SPAAAAAAAaaaaaaCCCEEEE!"

Chell blinked her moist eyelids and groaned loudly. Her shoulder was burning and itching, and when she looked there was blood caking to her robe. The air was a bit musky, but thats when she realized that there was smoke everywhere. _Crap. Fire. _Chell thought to herself. Quikcly getting up, she winced as her shoulder pained. Looking around in panic she saw that the huge hole in the barn was where the smoke was escaping from, but all the dry straw and objects in the barn had caught fire and were burning up. A whiff of the air above her made her gag and choke.

"She's alive! Haha! I told you she's invincible mate, didn't I say- I said it I remember, HA! Do you remember when I said it? Of course not you were sleeping…again. Gunna' have to stop doing that in life or death situations…sorry what was your name again?" Wheatley blurted out. She gave him the evil eye an he seemed to cower. Grabbing her shotgun she pointed it at the canister of glass.

"I!WANT! SPAAAACE!" the Space Core shouted. It banged against the glass and it shattered. Wheatley rolled out howling in fear while the Space Core half-closed it's optics and appeared to have a happy face as it tumbled out and landed at Chell's feet. She scrambled away gasping, only to start coughing on the smoke again. Struggling to get up, Chell braced herself against a the wooden wall, trying to walk towards out of the barn. She fell however, and her eyes met Wheatley's blue iris. Smiling-without-a-face-to-smile-with he flared his optics and blinked, before asking in a concerned tone,

"Now's not the time for sleeping! We have to leave! C'mon get up and at it!"

Dave rumbled something as his red eye looked to Chell. He reminded her of a helpless beached whale. Looking around Dave began to freak out and he rumbled and shook. Hisses were heard as his hydraulics malfunctioned. The incredibly hot thrusters on his back were scorching up the floor. Chell went to smack Wheatley away with her shotgun, the last she did before collapsing and dying in this burning barn. She failed and only lightly tapped him. Falling on her good shoulder she groaned and tears began to come from her eyes. She survived more than this! And how could she dare die in front of the one thing she despised the most in the world? Wheatley blinked a few times and asked if she was okay. A large chunk of flaming debris crashed down on Dave and he seemed to whine in protest. Flames licked at her feet, and Chell picked up her head.

"SPACE!" The Space core shouted in the background, it's optics going up to look at the smoky night sky.

Chell loked at Dave, and just then a small panel failed to be held together to the chassis, and the panel's door opened. Chell couldn't believe it.

"That looks like it'll help!" Wheatley remarked with a happy expression on his non-existent face.

On the panel was a cartoon figure of a man on fire, and what looked like the silhouette of an egg-shaped pod was spraying a puff of cloudy mist at him, dousing him. Chell crawled with both hands and legs to Dave. She reached up and took of the small glass lid on the red button inside Dave. Struggling to move she slammed down on the button. The large fire extinguisher on the bottom of Dave turned on and sprayed white foam onto the floor. The sounds were heard, except the hazard hole was underneath Dave and he was currently resting on the ground.

"Is it…is it working?"

"Space is working. Space always works. Space is a hard-worker SPACE."

_Well, fuck_. Chell's tears streamed down her face and she silently cried. She turned onto her back and looked up to the sky as more debris from the ceiling and roof fell around her. The hiss of the fire extinguisher was finished and Dave loudly groaned. A spark was heard and a small boom occurred as his left thruster exploded. And then Chell's world turned to darkness and she felt light.

…

"What is up with you?! Stop sleeping sleepy-head!"

"Spaceneversleeps-"

"Yes WE KNOW! Blimey mate!"

"…space."

Chell opened her eyes and the ash caked on her face swished around in the air. She weakly waved it away and looked around. Coughing her eyes went around the room. Wheatley's blue iris light shined onto the barrels and casks in the Barn's cellar. The Space Core was comically on it's face and the edges of the light from it's optical area lit up the ground. Dave was onto the dirt ground looking around with his large red-lit eye. E looked up and Chell saw the huge hole in the Barn's floor. All the stress of Dave's large and heavy chassis had caused the locked and forgotten cellar door to be flung open just as Chell shut her eyes. They fell a few feet and landed onto the soft and wet ground below. The foam from Dave's fire extinguisher had been drenched into the ground. Enocuraged by the notion of escaping death she use all her strength to turn her body around and brace herself on her forearms. Wheatley stared at her as she used Dave to get up. Tearing off some fabric from her robes she tied up the hole in her shoulder from the shotgun pellet. Grunting, Chell grabbed her shotgun from off the ground and picked up Wheatley by his handle. Space Core flailed it's back area of it's chassis around and managed to roll itself onto it's back.

"Ah! Space!"

Dave groaned again. Chell was completely and utterly aggravated by all of them.

"Where are you taking me lady? Are we going someplace fun will it be like old times again? Haha! Just me and you and whoooOOOAAAAH!"

Chell flung Wheatley with her good arm into the Wheat fields. It seemed fitting. Trekking to her Farmhouse she dragged herself inside and patched herself up. Chell, still in her tight black shorts and white tank top, fell onto a soft sofa in the corner of the living room. She put her legs up onto the wooden table and felt the new bandages on her arm. The pellet had been removed with a spoon, much to her loud wails. Exhaustion moved in again and she dozed off thinking about the burning barn nearby.

In the morning, she awoke with a numb shoulder and some pains that weren't on her body before. The adrenaline must have blocked off most of them, but small aches and scratches bugged her when she walked through her house. Ditching her shorts and tank top she put on her undergarments and a long t-shirt. Chell went through her dresser and got out some sweatpants. Slipping them on she went to the bathroom and tidied herself up a bit. The store wasn't open on Mondays and frankly she didn't want to do anything else other than sit on her sofa and think. Shutting the medicine cabinet, she took her pain reliever aspirin and shuffled to the Kitchen sink. A glass cup was taken off the counter top and she was filling it up when she looked through the window directly above the metal sink. Through the window was a red structure that looked like a bomb had been dropped in and then exploded. Which was a quarter true if you did the math and cross-referenced that with the events that took place. Never the less Chell spit out the warm water in her mouth and ran outside barefoot. Sprinting across the rough path she reached the smoldering remains of the Barn. Going through the misshapen door the cold embers and ashes on the floor tickled her feet. She scaled over large struts and piles of scrap until she reached the cellar door. It was a massive hole in the floor shaped like a rectangle with larger lengths than widths. Peering through the hole her shadow blocked out some of the view, but the rest was shining on a large crème colored egg-shape form on the ground. The red eye of Dave looked up to her and she again felt the sympathy for the "beached whale."

"What's wrong? Did something happen to spACE?! Oh no it's just the lady. Hello lady. Lady I was in space. Were you in space? I don't think so…I'm better than you lady."

Angrily Chell tossed a large splinter of wood at the Space Core and it rolled out of the sunlight whining. Chell jumped down expertly and rolled off of Dave's hull. She landed on some barrels that were stacked in a triangular shape. Gingerly stepping down Chell surveyed the cellar she never knew existed. The air was musty and dust particles danced in the air. There were spider cobwebs in the corners of barrels or boxes that hadn't been moved for years. Cement bags were in a corner, and the wet ground below had dried up a bit with the sunlight falling onto it. Dave's cargo plank was on the floor, one side hanging off at an angle. His hydraulics were smashed. He rumbled a bit when Chell came near, and a long panel on his side opened up. Dave's wiry and thin clawed arm whirred out and hovered around Chell, almost like he was looking for a spot to touch or examine her. Hi iris scanners looked for high heat areas. The arm found the spot and jabbed at it. Chell squealed and jumped backwards. She put both her hands to her crotch region and gave a bewildered look to the drone. It chirped a bit and the Space Core was urging Dave to smite her. Chell blocked the second jab, a much slower one, and then forced the arm back into it's panel. She huffed and blew a strand of loose hair from in front of her face. Strangely, her hair always remained at the same bed-head look it retained when she used to be contained in the Facility. It had grown longer though, but she liked to keep it a neat pony-tail or braid it in amazing designs. Sometimes she pretended that she was a Princess, but the childish thought was kicked out from her mind with a scoff.

Dave rumbled a bit and he accepted the forced placement of his hand back into it's slot. Chell crossed her arms and was thinking about how there was something missing. That's when she saw the orange iris of Space Core and she gasped loudly. She quickly boosted off of Dave and grabbed onto the ledge of the cellar. The door was originally supposed to be a staircase, but Dave destroyed it. She struggled to pull herself up but she did, Chell half-slipped on the ashy floor and ran out of the same misshapen door she entered the barn with. She looked to the Wheat fields, but couldn't find him. _Why am I doing this, anyways? _Chell thought. Running into the golden lake, rapidly nudging away wheat as it gently slapped against her arms every second. She was on her knees now, crawling through the field. After what seemed like an hour, she heard some odd noises.

"C'mon c'mon I can do this! You can do this Wheatley, you're amazing! PLEUUUUUUGH! You're the best! You, small little moronic Wheatley are the best at doing…what you were made for…what's the point? …PLEUUUUUGH!"

Chell smiled as she looked through the Wheat at the Personality core on the floor, screeching it's vocal processor and it tried to whistle. After a few minutes she stood up and her shadow fell across him. He looked up with wide eyes at her.

"Oh! Hello! …Are you going to fling me again? Wait a minute how long have you been there?"

Chell's silence told him that it was quite the while.

"Oh ho ho! So that's how you get your kicks huh you little she-demon?! Watching a poor bloke like me make a fool out of myself! Yeah? Well they're MY dreams, and I DO NOT CARE what you think about them you- what're you doing? Nononono DON'T THROW ME AGAIN!"

Chell picked him up by his handles and held him closely to her bosom. She trekked through the wheat Fields silently, going right for the Farmhouse.

"Oh…okay. Well, uh, sorry for the outburst! You know, I was angry at you because you were angry t me and the we popped by un-invited and…well it's good to be back! Right?"

She opened the door and threw him onto the Sofa. He landed and bounced off of it only to fall onto the hardwood floor.

"Owww! I prefer the soft bouncy thing being less bouncy, please. If you could do that. Yeah?"

Chell sat down on the opposite couch. It was leather, cold and worn. She slid into it and crossed her arms. It was quite comical to see Wheatley spinning his optics to look around at Chell's living room while she observed, silently. He was about to speak when the rumble of trucks were heard nearby. Chell slowly went to the window and looked out, only to see the familiar cars and trucks of the townsfolk. The leading car was a truck that belonged to Saxton Smith- the Town's Mechanic. The small convoy was coming up to Chell's house. She double-taked at the ruined Barn and ran outside, leaving Wheatley to stay perched on the blue sofa. Running to the barn she hefted a nearby rock that ws decently sized. Going into the barn she looked around for something. Finding it she set the rock on the floor and threw the black liquid all over it. Running to the cellar she found a few large struts and threw them over the doorway. Tossing some more debris over the cellar she took the blackened rock and threw it onto the wooden rubble. Saxton and company politely walked up to her Farmhouse and knocked. She saw it from out of the corner of her eye and ran outside of the Barn. Walking up to the Farmhouse someone saw Chell and informed the group.

"Ah! Morning Chell!" Saxton belted out. He was a Caucasian man, with hairy arms and a bearded face. His head was bald and he usually had a welder's mask on, this day however he had goggles. Saxton was a large man, with a rounded belly that hung over his waist. He usually wore brown overalls with a white undershirt underneath. Saxton was one of the first people Chell saw, and he waved at her as she walked into town with her ragged jumpsuit. He was always chipper and his eyes were full of adventure. Saxton was the typical jolly fat man, who had an immense knowledge of technology. But he spent his time fixing cars and watching television. The rest of the company were decently dressed men and woman who followed Saxton with his tales of a meteor landing site to the west of Town. Everyone was now eager to speak with Chell, seeing how it must have landed on her property with the mangled Barn and all.

"Good day ma'am." Oliver said. He was around Chell's age but was raised like a gentlemen. He always wore a suit around, even in the heat. The other were wearing morning clothes, too excited to change or anxious to go. They had parked onto her grassy lawn and moved up like a friendly mob to her house. Chell smiled back and hugged Saxton. To no one's notice, Wheatley was staring at the very corner of his iris through the window's shutters at Chell and her company. He remained quiet though.

"Alright Chell. It's pretty obvious the meteor from last night landed at your Barn, think of those odds, eh?! Haha! We want to see it? Can we Chell? Please? Can we?!" Saxton asked with hungry eyes. Chell began to sweat. No one knew about Aperture, or heir devices. She had one of their machines in her home right now, and two in the Barn's cellar! Smiling worriedly she was about to say something when Oliver began walking down to the Barn by himself. He was tall, freckled, and had red hair. He was wearing a grey suit and some black shoes. One of the women from the crowd shouted that he was being rude.

"Ahhh Chell won't mind, do you Chell?" he smiled back. Chell raised an eyebrow and shrugged a bit. Saxton took off after Oliver, panting and red-faced by the time he reached the Barn. The crowd followed closely while Chell froze up in fear and prayed that her plan worked.

"Jesus christ Chell! You're Barn's a frickin' mess! It must have been massive!" Saxton exclaimed. He usd his freakish strength to ram through the rubble, and the weak wood cracked and broke to his force and weight. Wiping off splinters from his hairy arms he stomped over the ash and dust and reached the Cellar area. The whole crowd filed in, Chell being the last. The crowd stopped at where Saxton was, standing still near the cellar location.

"…Something isn't right."

Chell froze up and began to tiptoe backwards, when he shouted,

"Look at how small it is! How could that puny thing do all of this?"

Chell relaxed a bit smirked. Saxton was looking at the "space rock" thinking how much of a let-down it was.

"I mean…arrgh! Look at it! It couldn't have burned up that much in the atmosphere. It was slower and the trail it left could be seen fairly close to the ground, telling me hat it started to burn once it reached the inner atmosphere. How could this…small thing be from-"

The muffled cry of SPACE! Was heard underneath the floors. People looked around in shock. Chell's sweat dropped with a small drop to the floor and she bit her lip. She noticed how she needed some shoes on as the bare-foot running was taking a toll on her soles and heels. Putting both her arms behind her back and looking like a stereotypical little girl who had been caught doing something bad- Chell began to flip out inside.

"Yeah! Space! …Wait, who said that?" Saxton asked with his rough voice silencing everyone. The crowd looked around at each other in confusion, small mumbles of questions being whispered were heard. Then someone said,

"I think Joe said it…right?"

Joe was a townsperson who loved pleasing people. His sole purpose in life was to make people happy. No one ever knew why, only his grandmother did but she passed on before anyone could ask. Joe was blonde, fit, and a bit slow and dumb. He always wore blue jeans and a dirty t-shirt or button up. Someone pushed him out into plain view and he looked around, his handsome facial features turning to horror. But something sparked in his mind as he assessed the situation, and he proudly declared,

"Yeah. I said that!" with a goofy smile on his face. Chell's body tension was shot out from her as she sighed in relief. Her secret was safe once again.

"Hey Chell!" Saxton called. She tensed up and walked forwards. Saxton frowned at her, but his expression changed to pure happiness.

"How lucky you are girl! Haha! Say, do you mind if I take it? It smells a bit familiar, and I want to observe it more. Rare thing for a rock from space to land near us, the place no one cares about."

The crowd murmured in agreement and started to disperse. Chell giggled a bit, but then too flatly said,

"No."

Saxton was surprised. He shrugged and shook her hand.

"Alriiiigt. Thanks anyways Chell. Treat it nicely! Show's over folks. Have a good day Chell."

Saxton took one last glance at the painted earth rock and loudly sighed in disappointment. He walked out of the barn. Oliver guided a confused Joe out of the Barn and the two bid their farewells to Chell. After they were all gone, she rushed to the cellar area and tore away at the rubble. Dave looked up at her, his arm came out, much to her concern, and started moving stuff away also. Chell climbed down, avoiding the hand, and grabbed Space Core. She got it by it's chassis and used Dave to boost up back to the Barn.

...

"Oh hello again! Who were those things? Were they also humans like yourself? Why don't they all look like you? Are they made...differently?"

Chell chuckled and opened her barren freezer. She took some lemons and stuck them into the empty freezer and then took the Space Core and put it into the Freezer. Shutting the door, the blackness took over and the lemons looked like stars as the Space Core's optic light shined down on it.

"SPACE! I've returned to space! Haha!"

Chell sat back down onto the brown couch and put her tired legs up onto the tabletop. She rolled her neck around and loosened it up.

"Ahhh, nice job- good thinking. Feeling better though? That uh...that repair on your part holding up good?" Wheatley asked.

Chell was shocked (Chell-shocked, tee hee). Wheatley had just asked about her injury._ What do you care? _Chell wanted to shout. But she kept her cool and raised an eyebrow. She was actually flattered by this monster. Instead Chell nodded her head and turned around onto th couch to lie own on it. Her legs hung over it's side and her head rested on the armrest. Kicking her slender legs against the couch she began to smile. She didn't know why. It was an unconcious expression that took over her face. She beamed, showing her teeth to the ceiling. Furrowing her brow Chell noticed this and put a hand to her mouth, feeling embarrassed. The giggles soon took over and she waved Wheatley away, swiftly walking to her bedroom. She jumped onto the bed and buried her face into her pillow. Why was she so amazingly happy? Kicking her legs into the air Chell spun around onto her back and relaxed onto her soft bedsheets. The ceiling fan had been on all night and morning. Her eyes followed one of the blades and the constant motion began to hypnotize her. She gulped and went to sleep thinking about how her life had just been changed.

For the better or worse though?


End file.
